Thread by @PeoplesPike

The design for the #Allston Throat selected by @MassDOT needs to be improved to minimize the impact of having 12 highway lanes immediately adjacent to the Charles River parkland. This can be done in a way that is both effective and visually attractive

Here is an example from the EastLink Trail in Melbourne. AUS
kgrahamjourneys.wordpress.com/2013/07/16/mel…

In North Carolina, this wall was built as part of the Charlotte Area Transit System LYNX Blue Line Extension project, another example of how a transportation project can build a nice looking wall.
braaksmadesign.com/#/cats/

the wall along the Mass Pike on-ramp in Newton was done nicely

Hong Kong, where they "camouflage the highways with vegetation in order to erase them, softening the boundary between the natural and the concrete"
eskyiu.com/linear-landsca…

A gabion is a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil. They can be used to build a wall with a natural appearance and sound-blocking properties

another option is a soil berm, like this one at Brooklyn Bridge Park @bbpnyc designed by @MVVA_INC - the central area near Pier 3 is not only a narrow area, but is squeezed between the river and busy Furman Street.
mvvainc.com/project.php?id…

"Overhead, is the double stacked and always busy BQE. The park beside Pier 3 had been a no-mans land due to the noise emanating from the BQE which directs the sound of traffic away from the heights and toward the water."
(sound familiar?)
brooklynbridgepark.org/blog/news-medi…

"Behind the terrace is a 30-foot-high berm planted with trees and meadow grass that hides the BQE from the park and acts as a sound attenuating barrier. reducing noise pollution in the park up to 75 percent (or from above 80 decibels to below 68 decibels)"

The IRT Hybrid design (top image) puts SFR over I90 WB. In this design, a barrier wall/berm may be incompatible with the need to ventilate I90 under the SFR deck. This is one reason @CityOfBoston @ABetterCity & others say the Modified design (bottom image) merits study

MassDOT is required by Federal Law to minimize the impact that the highway project has on the Charles River parkland, and we look forward to a collaborative process that figures out the best way to do that.